Consultancy, Investigations Officer, Investigations Section, Office of Internal Audit and Investigations (OIAI) New York or remote Req# 584124

About UNICEF

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines fordeveloping countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

Consultancy Title: Consultancy, Investigation Officer

Division/Duty Station: OIAI

Duration: 01 November 2025 – 30 October 2026

Home/ Office Based: OIAI New York, HQ or remote 

 

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The Office of Internal Audit and Investigations (OIAI) is an independent office reporting to UNICEF’s Executive Director and the Executive Board. The Investigations Section investigates reports of misconduct involving UNICEF staff and other personnel, including fraud, corruption, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, workplace harassment, and other failures to observe regulations, rules, administrative issuances and standards of conduct. OIAI also investigates alleged wrongdoing including fraud and other financial irregularities, as well as sexual exploitation and abuse, committed by third parties including institutional contractors and implementing partners.

Within the Investigations Section, the Strategy, Intake and Analysis Unit (SIA) is responsible for overall management of the hotline for reporting allegations and for conducting initial assessments of reports of misconduct and wrongdoing. SIA is also responsible for certain policy and strategic initiatives; quality assurance of investigation and other reports; and internal and external reporting of certain investigations-related data. Investigations teams based in New York,  Budapest and Nairobi are responsible for conducting investigations and certain initial assessments.

The consultant will support the work of the Investigations Section by conducting initial assessments and investigations, as appropriate.

This consultancy assignment requires fluency in French in addition to English

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Chief of SIA, the consultant will be required to:

• Independently conduct initial assessments, including by:
  • Obtaining relevant information from UNICEF systems and offices;
  • Conducting witness interviews, where necessary and appropriate;
  • Reviewing and analyzing available evidence to formulate recommendations regarding case disposition;
  • Preparing high quality written outputs, including notes-for-the-record, referral memoranda, and reports, for management’s review;
• Upon request, and under the guidance of the relevant Investigations team lead/Chief, conduct — and support other investigators in conducting — investigations, including by:
  • Preparing and contributing to the preparation of investigation plans;
  • Coordinating the investigation with investigations colleagues, including the relevant Chief of Investigations;
  • Obtaining and analyzing relevant evidence;
  • Conducting witness and subject interviews, where appropriate;
  • Conducting investigative field missions, where appropriate;
  • Drafting investigation and closure reports.

This consultancy assignment requires fluency in French, including the ability to conduct assessments and investigations in French.

Terms of Reference / Key Deliverables:

Work Assignment Overview/Deliverables and Outputs/Delivery deadline

1. Conduct case assessments and support and conduct investigations.
2. Ensure case files are maintained, organized and updated with relevant communications and evidence.
3. Complete assessment, referral and case  completion reports and communications

– 12 Monthly case assessments,  investigation reports and other requested memoranda are submitted, including:

1. Relevant information and evidence from UNICEF systems, offices and witnesses obtained in support of case assessments and investigations, as appropriate, in accordance with OIAI processes and procedures.
2. Case files are managed and updated, with relevant files organized in a structured format, and accurate case information maintained in the i-Sight case management system.
3. Case closure documents and other relevant written work products are drafted and submitted for review in support of cases, following prescribed OIAI formats

Qualifications

Education: Advanced university degree in law, investigations, or a related field would be advantageous; however, a bachelor’s or equivalent in law, investigations, or a related field, plus two years’ additional relevant experience, would be considered

Knowledge/Expertise/Skills required *: 

• Fluency in both French and English
• Four years of relevant work experience in investigations (criminal or administrative) or adjacent legal field;
• Ability to summarize and analyze evidence;
• Strong drafting and writing abilities and experience preparing reports and memoranda; and
• Prior experience working with an international organization

Desirable:

• An advanced university degree in investigations, law, or related field
• Prior experience with UN entity or another international organization’s oversight office
• Knowledge of Spanish or Arabic

Requirements:

Completed profile in UNICEF’s e-Recruitment system and

– Upload copy of academic credentials

– Financial proposal that will include/ reflect :

• • the costs per each deliverable and the total lump-sum for the whole assignment (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference.
  • travel costs and daily subsistence allowance, if internationally recruited or travel is required as per TOR.
  • Any other estimated costs: visa, health insurance, and living costs as applicable.
  • Indicate your availability

– Any emergent / unforeseen duty travel and related expenses will be covered by UNICEF.

– At the time the contract is awarded, the selected candidate must have in place current health insurance coverage.

– Payment of professional fees will be based on submission of agreed satisfactory deliverables. UNICEF reserves the right to withhold payment in case the deliverables submitted are not up to the required standard or in case of delays in submitting the deliverables on the part of the consultant.

Interested candidates are invited to submit (i) a cover letter outlining their relevant experience and motivation for the assignment, (ii) a detailed curriculum vitae (CV), and (iii) a financial proposal (expressed in USD, indicating the cost per deliverable and the total cost for the assignment). The financial proposal must be submitted as a separate document from the technical application (cover letter and CV). Only applications that include  all three elements will be considered.

U.S. Visa information:

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.  

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results. View our competency framework at: Here

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment. 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check. 

Remarks:  

Individuals engaged under a consultancy will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants. Consultants are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. 

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.